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墨書 Inktalez
A few days later, Cui Shuigen approached Hu Ruoyun again to discuss making money. This time, he not only reiterated his struggles but also shared a lot about his girlfriend Feng Yun's family situation.
Feng Yun was from Guizheng Province and had two younger brothers, one of whom was her biological sibling while the other was born from her father and stepmother. That summer when Feng Yun was in her second year of junior high, her biological mother went up the mountain to gather pigweed on a rainy day and accidentally slipped down the slope. When night fell and she didn't return, her father called upon the entire clan to search for her. They found her by midnight, but it was too late; she had already passed away.
At that time, Feng Yun was only fourteen years old, and her younger brother was just eight. Their world had collapsed.
The year after her mother’s death, through an introduction, her father married her current stepmother. A year later, they had another son. To be fair, she couldn’t say anything bad about her stepmother; they didn’t share blood ties, and as long as she didn’t neglect herself and her brothers, what more could she ask?
Throughout her schooling, she consistently performed well academically. After graduating from middle school, she gained admission to the top high school in the county. With their financial struggles and the high costs of education, her father and stepmother discussed whether they should continue supporting their daughter since she had done so well.
Her stepmother didn’t explicitly agree or disagree; she just wore a troubled expression. Feng Yun didn’t blame her stepmother; instead, she lamented their poverty.
Her three years of high school were spent in agony: worrying about how to ask her father for tuition fees and enduring the disapproving looks from her stepmother. While others ate three meals a day, she made do with just two to save on living expenses and avoided asking for money from home as much as possible.
After finishing high school, she thought it was enough; she was already luckier than many girls from the mountains who had dropped out of elementary or middle school. When she received the acceptance letter from Jiangbei University, this frail and worn-out girl didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
If that acceptance letter could be sold for money, she would have done so without hesitation!
On the night she received the letter, lights burned all night in her father and stepmother's room; they were worried! With three children, the tuition for their daughter felt astronomical. Their eldest son had also graduated from elementary school and needed to attend middle school…
She didn’t know how her father and stepmother came to an agreement, but they eventually allowed her to attend university. However, there was no excitement or pride on their faces about their daughter’s achievement—only more worry and anguish.
Before reporting to school, her father handed her a bag filled with small bills: “We’ve borrowed from all our relatives and sold everything we could… Don’t blame your dad or your aunt!”
She took an ox cart out of the mountains, then a bus to the county town, followed by a long-distance bus into the city, and finally a train to Jiangbei University… It took nearly eighteen hours; all she consumed along the way were water and flatbread.
After paying her tuition at school, she had less than two hundred yuan left in small bills. She managed to stretch that two hundred yuan over three months… In the cafeteria, she ate alone for every meal—just a bowl of soup and a piece of flatbread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—with an extra six jiao for mung bean sprouts in one of those meals.
Cui Shuigen struggled; she felt even worse than him!
Later on, through an acquaintance from home, she met Cui Shuigen. She started selling shoe insoles he provided—buying two pairs for one yuan each and retailing them for one yuan per pair in the girls’ dormitory.
She brushed off any disdain or ridicule with a smile…
Since then, she hadn’t asked her family for a single cent for living expenses! Instead, she used her earnings to buy a trendy scarf for her stepmother and a fun toy for her half-brother… all while hoping for harmony at home so that her elder brother wouldn’t be mistreated by their stepmother!
Just last winter when Cui Shuigen appeared in her life, she considered it a divine blessing! She earned nearly four hundred yuan from selling cotton shoe insoles and over three hundred from postcards; even phone cards brought in decent profits… Eventually, she was also placed on the university’s list for financial aid.
She couldn’t believe it—she was able to support herself in this provincial capital!
As time went on, she realized that the boy, who came from a poor background just like her, had a solid shoulder for her to lean on...
Calculating the time, it was indeed about time to kick off the "project" regarding the Graduation Album. When discussing the project, Hu Ruoyun asked Cui Shuigen to directly bring his girlfriend, Feng Yun, into the conversation. Their previous duo officially upgraded to a "Trio of Swordsmen."
They renegotiated the profit-sharing arrangement: Hu Ruoyun would invest and enjoy 50% of the final profits, while Cui Shuigen and Feng Yun would handle sales, sharing the remaining 50% of the total profits. Hu Ruoyun disagreed, but was overruled by the other two...
In life, one can show kindness without expecting anything in return, but one must always have a grateful heart. When someone does you a small favor, you should repay it with great gratitude!
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